The excitement around Hera Pheri 3 has been hit by yet another major controversy. The long-awaited sequel, featuring Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty and Paresh Rawal returning as the beloved trio Raju, Shyam and Baburao, is now facing a fresh legal battle over franchise ownership.
South producer GP Vijayakumar, head of Seven Arts International, has filed a case claiming that he owns the rights to the franchise. Vijayakumar argues that Hera Pheri was originally based on the Malayalam hit Ramji Rao Speaking, and that he had legally acquired all production rights connected to the original property.
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According to him, Firoz Nadiadwala received permission only to create one Hindi remake — the first Hera Pheri, directed by Priyadarshan. However, he alleges that the makers went ahead with Phir Hera Pheri in 2006 without obtaining the required approvals.
Vijayakumar said legal action wasn’t taken earlier due to industry relationships and the fact that the copyright issue was recognised too late. The dispute resurfaced when Seven Arts tried developing another Hindi version and discovered that rights had already been transferred to Akshay Kumar’s production company, Cape Of Good Films.
With the petition challenging the producers’ authority to continue the franchise, Hera Pheri 3 now faces uncertainty even before its release.
